• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, August 5, 2015

Further fashioning itself as an interactive business directory, Facebook has added new ways for customers to send private messages to Page owners and new tools for Page administrators to manage and respond to messages.

With a new “Send Message” call-to-action button for local awareness, people can initiate private conversations with business Pages from News Feed ads. The result is a more “personal way to connect with businesses directly from ads,” a Facebook spokesperson said.

When people click on the “Send Message” button in an ad, the Facebook Messenger window will open.

For Page owners’ edification, incoming messages will include an attachment showing which ad prompted a person to reach out. Creating a new and highly personalized marketing channel, Page owners can also reply directly to users who message them.

“Advertisers can start using the ‘Send Message’ call-to-action button by creating a new local awareness ad and selecting ‘Send Message’ in the ‘Call to Action’ field,” according to the Facebook Spokesman.

To reply privately to a customer comment, Page admins can now click the new “Message” option, and a private message thread with the commenter will open. The message from the Page will include a link to the customer's comment for reference.

The changes are part of a broader effort by Facebook to upend the business-customer relationship management. The social giant also recently announced plans to position Messenger at the center of business-to-consumer communication.